Double acting portable power planing device



May 3, 1955 J. N. ANCTIL DOUBLE ACTING PORTABLE POWER PLANING DEVICE Filed Oct. 20, 1955 INVENTOR. JOSEPH NOEL ANCTIL ATTORNEY United States Patent 0 DOUBLE ACTING PORTABLE POWER PLANIN G DEVICE Joseph Noel Anctil, Nashua, N. H.

Application October 2.0, 1953, Serial No. 387,133

5 Claims. (Cl. 145-4) The present invention relates to a planing device, and

in particular to one in which the cutting blade is adapted to be motor-driven in oscillation so as to provide cutting action in both directions and produce a planing action whether the device is moved forwardly or rearwardly.

tive and operative positions being necessary whenever the direction of movement of "the device is reversed. In addition, they, in common with standard planes, must be quite strong in construction since the planing force is directly derived from the manual force applied to the device in order to cause the device to slide over the surface being planed. This last factor alone accounts for the comparative costliness even of standard planing devices, since they must be made strong enough to withstand the high stresses to which-they are subjected in use. The cost of a double-acting plane must necessarily be much greater than that of a standard plane, and the mounting arrangement for the blades is such as to de- =tract from the planing action ineach direction.

Nevertheless, the essential desirability of aplane which produces a cutting action when moved either-forwardly or rearwardly is quite obvious. Such a plane will act in half the time formerly required to perform a given task and will much more efiiciently utilize the energy of the operator.

A major drawback encountered by the userof planing devices, whether of standard or :double-acting variety, is that the shavings or chips which are cutby theplane tend to clog the cutting blade or work their way under the supporting surfaces of -the plane and thus destroy its accuracy of operation.

All of the above disadvantages .areeliminated in accordance with the teachings of the present invention. In the first place, the cutting blade is motor-driven, and

the cutting force is derived'from the motor and therefore This not only. makes need not be exerted by the operator. for reduced operator fatigue and more rapid achievement of a given carpentry task, but also permits the plane itself to be much less expensive than standard planes of the prior art because the structure thereof need not be designed to withstand *heavy forces. All

the operator need do is place the plane of the present invention on the surface to be planed and then slide it back and forth over that surface.

In the second place, cutting action of the blade is independent of the direction in which the plane is moved, that cutting action taking place constantly, so long as the motor is energized, whether the plane is stationary or is moved in any'direction, either forwardly, rearwardly, or from side to side. It is thus capable of accomplishing any of the ordinary work of carpentry that is performed by the standard plane, but at a much faster rate than the standard plane or even the double-acting 2,707,502 Patented May 3, 1955 planes of the prior art, and with much less operator fatigue.

In the third place, the plane of the present invention is so designed that the chips or shavings, as they are cut from the surface being planed by the blade, are automatically swept away from the area where the blade is operating and are also forced away from the planing device itself so as not to interfere with continued operation thereof.

Of course, as in standard planing devices, the blade is adjustably mounted in the planing device so that the depth of cut may be controlled.

To the accomplishment of the above, and to such other objects as may hereinafter appear, the present invention relates to the structure of a planing device as defined in the appended claims and as described in this specification, taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. -1 is a three-quarter perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view thereof, on a reduced scale;

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 44 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan view of a portion of the cutting blade.

The planing device of the present invention as here disclosed comprises a hollow support 1 having wings 2 and 3 of appreciable length extending forwardly and rearwardly respectively from a central and raised section '4. The support 1 may be formed of walls of light metal such as aluminum, and its lower edges are fiat and adapted to rest upon the surface to be planed.

An electric motor 5 is adapted to be mounted in the upper raised part of the central support section 4, the

shaft 7 of the motor extending out through a'hnb 6 and having a crank disks secured thereto, the link 10 being pivotally secured'to a radial outwardly disposed point on the disk 8 by means of the pin 9. The lower end of the link 10 is pivotally connected to crank arm 11 which is fast on one end of shaft 12, the shaft being journaled at one end in web 13 extending under the motor 5 and at the other end in bearing 16 mounted in the side wall 14 of the support 1. The side wall 14 is provided with cutaway area 15 extending upwardly from its lower edge about the shaft 12, as may best be seen from Fig. l.

The left hand end of the web 13, as viewedin Fig. 3, is cut away to expose a substantial portion of the length of the shaft 12, and a hub 17 surrounds and is secured to the shaft along that length. The hub is provided with a pair of depending flanges between which the upper end of the cutting blade 18 is adapted to be received, set screws 19 passing through one of the flanges so as to secure the blade 13 in adjusted position. One corner of the blade 18 is cut away, as at 29, so as to fit around that portion of the cutout 15 adjacent the end of the shaft 12, the cutout 15 being appreciably wider than the throw of the blade 18 and the edge of the blade 18 extending into the cutout 15. The side wall of the support 1 opposite from the side wall 14 is provided with recesses 15 extending up from its lower-edge and on either side of the blade 18, and internal reinforcing partitions 27 are so as to facilitate manipulation thereof, an electric switch being incorporated into the handle and having an operating button 24 extending therefrom in position to be controlled by the operators thumb when he grasps the handle 23. Leads 25 are provided which extend from any appropriate source of power, such as the usual 110 volt source, to the switch in the handle 23, the electrical connections (not shown) being provided from the switch to the motor 5. If desired, a graduated scale 26 may be provided on the leading edge of the support 1 for guiding and measurement purposes.

In operation the support 1 will be placed on the surface to be planed, the operator will grasp the handle 23, and he will depress the switch button 24 when planing action is desired. This will cause the motor 5 to rotate and, via the linkage 711, an oscillating movement will be imparted to the shaft 12. This will in turn cause the cutting blade 18 to be oscillated rapidly between its extreme positions shown in broken lines in Fig. 4, the blade thus sweeping back and forth through its lowermost position shown in solid lines in Fig. 4. The degree to which the lower edge of the blade 18 projects below the lower surfaces of the wings 1 and 2 which provide support for the planing device can be adjusted by loosening the set screws 19 and appropriately sliding the blade 18 up or down between the flanges on the hub 17, after which the set screws 19 will again be tightened. In this way the depth of cut will be controlled. It will be appreciated that the rapid swinging of the blade 18 will cut away any portions of the surface being planed which extend above the level of the lower surfaces of the wings 2 and 3. It will further be appreciated that this cutting action will take place no matter in what direction the support 1 may be moved, whether forwardly, rearwardly,

or from side to side, and will even take place when the support 1 is held stationary, thus providing for efiicient removal of irregular high points. As the blade 18 oscillates it will sweep the chips or cuttings out of its way and up against the partitions 27. The chips or cuttings, if they accumulate between the partitions 27, will eventually be forced out through the cutout area and the recessed areas 15'. In most instances, because of the draft of air produced by the blade 18, such an accumulation will not take place, the chips or cuttings being blown out to one side or the other of the support 1 so as not to interfere with the operation thereof. Moreover, since the wings 2 and 3 are hollow and open at their bottoms, any chips or shavings which might work their way under the wings 2 and 3 will be received within the hollow portions thereof and consequently will not affect the accuracy of the planing operation.

From the above description it will be apparent that a lightweight planing device may be produced the structural portion of which is so designed as to be capable of inexpensive manufacture on a mass production basis, as by die casting or the like, in which the planing action is produced primarily by the motor 5, adapted to be powered in any appropriate manner. All the operator need do is guide the planing device over the surface to be planed. Cutting action in both directions will take place independently of the movement of the planing device, and consequently a finer finish will be imparted to the surface being planed. The cutting action will take place no matter in what direction the planing device is moved, and consequently will be completed in the least possible time. The cuttings are automatically cleared away so as not to impair the functioning of the device. The instant unit can be made lowing claims.

1 claim:

1. A planing device or the like comprising a hollow support adapted to rest upon a surface to be planed, a cutting blade mounted within said support on a shaft extending substantially laterally of said support so as to be pivotal about a substantially horizontal axis with its cutting edge at its lowermost point at least as low as said surface to be planed, and a rotating electric motor operatively connected to said shaft by a linkage transforming continuous rotation of said motor into oscillating motion of said shaft, thereby causing said cutting blade to pivot back and forth to either side of its lowermost position.

2. The planing device of claim 1, in which said support comprises forwardly and rearwardly extending wings of appreciable length having long flat bottom surfaces adapted to engage the surface to be planed and a central section between said wings and having side walls, said shaft extending between said side walls.

3. The planing device of claim 2, in which the lower edge of one of said side walls is cut away in registration with said blade.

4. The planing device of claim 2, in which the lower edge of one of said side walls is cut away in registration with said blade, the other of said side walls having a pair of recesses at its lower edge in the vicinity of said blade and forwardly and rearwardly of said cutaway area in said one of said side walls.

5. The planing device of claim 2, in which the lower edge of one of said side walls is cut away in registration with said blade, the other of said side walls having a pair of recesses at its lower edge in the vicinity of said blade and forwardly and rearwardly of said cutaway area in said one of said side walls, and internal partitions extending across said support from the outer portions of said cutaway area to the outer portions of said recessed areas, the lower edges of said partitions being substantially flush with the flat bottom surfaces of the remainder of said support.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

